Briefly
SPOTLIGHT ON REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
Discoveries: a new female of the rarest turtle.. . The Ha Noi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with the Asian Turtle Program of Indo-Myanmar Con- servation and theWildlifeConservation Society, have made dramatic progress to possibly pre- vent the extinction of Swinhoe’s softshell turtle Rafetus swinhoei,the world’smostthreatened turtle. Until late 2020 it was thought that only one individual remained, a male kept at Suzhou Zoo in China. The last known female of the species died in April 2019, when artifi- cial insemination was attempted. However, in October 2020 an individual of unconfirmed sex was captured in 1,400 ha Dong Mo Lake near Viet Nam’s capital Hanoi. Genetic testing revealed in December 2020 that the 86 kg turtle was a
female.Authorities believe there is at least onemore of these turtles inDongMo Lake and another innearbyXuanKhanh
Lake.Conserva- tionists hope to capture anddetermine the sexof the other turtles in both lakes in
2021.The new discoveries offer renewed hope that it will be possible to return Swinhoe’ssoftshell
turtle
from the brink of extinction. Surveys in other areas of Viet Nam suggest more individuals may still survive in the wild. Sources: The Guardian (2021) theguardian. com/environment/2021/jan/01/hopes-for-most- endangered-turtle-after-discovery-of-female-in- vietnam-lake & The Turtle Survival Alliance (2020)
turtlesurvival.org/turtle-news-of-the-decade
.. . and the smallest known reptile Scientists believe theymay have discovered the smallest reptile on Earth: a chameleon subspe- cies that is the size of a seed. Two of the tiny lizards were discovered by a German–Mada- gascan expedition team in Madagascar. The male Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon, has a body length of just 13.5mm. This makes it the smallestof c. 11,500knownspecies of reptiles. Its length fromtop to tail is 22mm. The female is bigger at c. 29mm.Other specimens have not yet been located, despite considerable search ef- forts. Researchers found that the chameleons hunt for mites on the rainforest floor and hide from predators at night in blades of grass. The forestswhere the individuals of B. nana were lo- cated are still well connected with others across the north of the island. In their report, scientists recommended that the chameleon be categor- ized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, to help protect it and its habitat. Source: BBC (2021)
bbc.co.uk/news/ world-africa-55945948
To protect snake and lizard habitats, German court halts factory plan Electric car manufacturer Tesla has been ordered again to suspend preparations for a car factory in Germany. The company has been clearing forest land near Berlin for its first European car and battery plant. But opponents argued this will en- danger the habitats of lizards and snakes. A court in Frankfurt an der Oder ordered forest clearing to be halted, pending further examinations. A similar court order was made earlier in 2020 about Tesla’s plans for what it calls the Gigafactory in Grün- heide, in the eastern state of Brandenburg. The earlier ruling was in response to con- cerns about wildlife and the water supply. Tesla has not publicly commented on the latest ruling, resulting from an ongoing legal dispute with the Nature and Biodiver- sity Conservation Union and Green League. A final decision on the case was still pend- ing inDecember 2020. The environmentalist groups say Tesla’s deforestation will destroy the habitats of sand lizards and smooth snakes, both of which are protected species. Source: Insight News (2020) insightnews
report.com/2020/12/08/tesla-german- court-halts-factory-plan-over-snake- and-lizard-habitats
Glass frogs wave their hands and feet to attract mates Frogs that live near roaring waterfalls and streams face a problem: loud rushing water that can drown out their mating calls. Some species have overcome this obs- tacle by using visible rather than audible signals: they attract mates by waving a foot, flapping a hand or bobbing their head. Frogs that use visual signals have so far been documented India, Borneo and Brazil. In a new study, researchers have dis- covered such behaviour among glass frogs Sachatamia orejuela in Ecuador. It was already known that this species has an extremely high-pitched call, which helps it communicate above the lower-pitched noise of waterfalls. However, this is the first time that the frogs have been observed to use visual cues for communication. The researchers hope their findings remind us that we share this planet with incredible biodiversity, the protection of which is im- portant not only for ecosystems to function, but also for our physical and emotional well-being and our sense of wonder. Sources: Behaviour (2020)
doi.org/10. 1163/1568539X-bja10048 &
Earth.com (2021)
earth.com/news/glass-frogs-wave- their-hands-and-feet-to-attract-mates
Size of amphibians determines extinction risk The size of animal species such as frogs and toads may determine how likely they are to become extinct. A study conducted by a team of researchers at the Australian Nation- al University has found smaller amphibians have a higher risk of dying out compared to larger ones. This is in contrast to other typesofanimals such asmammalsorreptiles, where larger species are more vulnerable to extinction. The researchers used computer modelling to determine the levels of risk fac- tors involved in extinction for amphibians around the world. The findings were a wake- up call for conservation efforts for some of the world’s smallest species. Although the re- search did not reveal the reason why smaller speciesweremoreatrisk, theteam say habi- tats may be among the key factors. Species of smaller body size are more likely to inhabit a smaller geographical area. This makes them more sensitive to human impacts and the destruction or alteration of rivers and water- ways, and they have fewer refuges. Source: The Canberra Times (2021) canberra
times.com.au/story/7112077/size-no-small- factor-for-extinction-risk
Bacteria on their skin could protect frogs from deadly fungi Researchers in Costa Rica have found that some bacteria on the skin of amphibians pre- vent growth of the fungus causing chytrid- iomycosis, which has been dubbed the amphibian apocalypse. The disease is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobati- dis, and a particularly dangerous strain, called BdGPL-2,isresponsible formassamphibian die-offs around theworld. It is believed that al- most 700 speciesofamphibiansare vulnerable to the fungus, and that it has already led to the extinction of 90 amphibian species. To inves- tigate why some amphibian populations in CostaRica weremoreresilient to chytridfun- gus than others, a research group sampled the circulating strains of the fungus and the skin microbiome of amphibians at different sites. They found that the bacteria on the skin of some surviving amphibians prevented growth of the fungus in the lab. These findings suggest that locally adapted skin bacteria may offer protection from the disease. The researchers hope to combine their findings with other disease control strategies to protect amphib- ian populations from decimation by chytrid fungus. Sources: Microbiology (2021)
doi.org/ 10.1099/mic.0.001017 & Science Daily (2021)
sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/
210203123410.htm
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Oryx, 2021, 55(3), 323–328 © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605321000375
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